As Fate Would Have It
by mikaylaxsalvatore
Summary: My name is Ace, and I have a problem. I'm constantly going after the wrong guys, and I'm thinking that one of my best friends may be the right guy. But do I have the guts to risk our friendship? And what about the dreadful postHogwarts? SBOC, JPLE, RLOC
1. Prolouge

**Ok, so I'm working on another fanfiction! Don't worry, my other story will still be updated. I've been toying with this plotline for a while now, and decided to just give it a shot. I have this prolouge, and the first chapter already done, so ill post that next. Please give it a shot, and review! Let me know what you think!**

**Prolouge**

Life. Such a marvelous and painful thing at once. I don't think I was really born until I turned 11. Yes, I know that sounds dumb, but can you think back to the day you knew your life had truly begun? I recall everything about that day. The smell in the air, everyone I had meet and seen, everything that I had heard and touched. Every single thing about it. The day my life began - September 1st, 1969.

I had gotten my letter but a few days earlier. My mum was so proud of me. She said my dad would have been equally proud. She took me to Kings Cross herself. It was the first time I had ever seen her cry, actually. We said our bittersweet goodbye, and I boarded the train, having no clue what was in store for me. Sometimes I wish I still had that innocence. I wish I were still just an innocent eleven-year-old, without a care in the world. Funny how things can change so drastically in just a few short years.

I got onto the train and saw the only person at Hogwarts that I actually knew, Remus Lupin. He was my mum's godson. So, would that make me his godsister? I don't really know how that works, but I'm getting off topic as usual. I gave Remus a big bear hug, and we set off to find a compartment together. We took a seat in the first empty one we could find.

It was fate. I honestly, truly believe that to this day. Fate brought that loud knocking at our compartment door as Remus and I were engaged in a conversation about what Hogwarts would be like. The door slid open, and two boys stood there. "Can we sit here? All the other compartment's are full," a tall boy with long, black hair that fell into his stormy grey eyes questioned with a wide lopsided grin. I just nodded, and gestured to the seat across from me. The other was a tad shorter with messy jet-black hair, hazel eyes, and black framed glasses.

And that was the day my life truly began. They sat down, and we got along right away. At that moment, we didn't know that it was fate. We were just a bunch of eleven-year-olds. We didn't know then what we know now.

**So, is it a good or bad beginning? Let me know!**


	2. Crazy Cat Man

**So, here's chapter one! Read and let me know what you think!**

**Crazy Cat Man**

"Ace!" I heard the sound of my nickname from two completely familiar voices. A huge grin spread across my face, and I ran across the platform. Sirius picked me up, hugged me tightly, and set me down. Then, James embraced me. "How was your summer?" Sirius asked me.

"It was okay. I missed you guys like crazy though!" I said with a grin.

"Ready for our fifth year?" James questioned.

"Sure am," Sirius said, rubbing his hands together, "I have a whole list of pranks!"

We got onto the train, and Remus met up with us. Peter, who was late as usual, turned up eventually. We talked all the way there, as usual, and played Exploding Snap. I didn't get to see my other friends until we made it to Hogwarts. Lily Evans, who also plays a huge role in my life, and in my story. Lily and I became friends the same day I became friends with James, Sirius, and Peter. We became friends in our dormitory while we were unpacking.

I think that fifteen is the age where my life started getting not-so innocent. Where I realized that the real world was like, even though I had never experienced it. I had been inside the walls of Hogwarts for the past four years, and before that I had lived with my parents. What did I know about real life? Nothing, really. But I was about to find out.

Classes began, and everything was the same as usual. But we were all starting to gain hormones. Sure, we had all took notice in the opposite sex during third and fourth year. But it was nothing compared to now. I'll never forget James saying this, even though it was about five years ago. I still remember it word for word. "You know, Ace...You're kind of turning into a babe." I had just laughed and shrugged that off.

But I would catch guys staring at me more often. A couple had even asked me out. It was during the first week of fifth year that I examined myself in the mirror. I looked pretty much the same as I always did. I had to same multitoned hair. Some of it was brown, some of it was light brown, some of it was dirty blonde, and some was really light blonde. I had very, very dark eyes. I was still scary-short for my age. Honestly, what fifteen year old girl is only five foot two? It couldn't be normal. I had always been teased by the guys about my height.

I wasn't really used to the attention I was getting. Apparently neither were the guys. Whenever a random guy would come up and hit on me, they just stood there awkwardly. It was starting to get kind of unnerving.

I was walking toward the Great Hall for dinner when I felt someone's arms around my waist, lifing me up. This was the kind of thing either Sirius or James always did, so I was kind of used to the random ambushes. I was getting so good, that sometimes I could even tell their arms apart.

"James," I said warningly, "One of these days, you'll drop me, and I'll sue you for all that you're worth."

"Take whatever you like," James said putting me down, "Just as long as you let me keep my broom."

"Speaking of which, did Barton say when trials would be this year?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah. Next Saturday. I don't see why you're so nervous though. You're the best keeper Hogwarts has seen in ages," James told her sincerely.

"And you're a fantastic chaser, if I do say so myself, Mr. Potter," I said with a smile.

"Um - A lot of guys have been asking about you," James said uncomfortably.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him questioningly.

"Something like this ... 'Hey James...Is Ashley Eastbrooke seeing anybody? You think I'd have a shot?' It's pathetic, really. They can't even talk to you themselves."

"Whatever," I whispered, sure that I was blushing.

"So, how's my dear Lily doing?" James asked with a smirk.

"I don't know why you're such an arse with her. Why can't you just be yourself? The way you are around me and the guys?" I asked, for what seemed like the millionth time. But it was no use.

"I told you," James said with a sigh, "I don't know how to be myself around her. It's too hard. I've tried, and I just can't do it."

"Then, Prongsie, You will _never_ get her, and you will die _alone_. You'll be the crazy man with eleven cats, that all the children are scared of," I warned him.

"Well, aren't you comforting. Remind me why we're friends again," James said scornfully, but I could tell he was joking.

"Because you love me, and can't live without me, of course," I told him with a smile.

"Oh yeah, that's it," James said, putting an arm around me as we entered the Great Hall for dinner.

I looked around at all of the faces in the Great Hall. I was used to all of the stares I got for hanging around the guys so much. There were rumors I was going out with James. There were rumors I was dating Sirius. They said I was seeing Remus. There were a few even about Peter. Heck, there was one about all four of them! But I was the kind of person who didn't give a shit what other people said. If I was happy with myself, that was all that really mattered to me.

I sat down between James and Remus, across from Peter and Sirius. We began to eat, and were talking about the upcoming visit to Hogsmeade. I couldn't wait to go. James, Remus, Peter, and I always had the best time. Sirius was there occassionally, but he was usually on a date during Hogsmeade weekends.

"Who are you taking to Hogsmeade?" James questioned Sirius.

Sirius shrugged, and then, with a mouthful of food said, "I'm thinking of asking Becky Miller or Casey Franklin."

I snorted. I was used to Sirius going through girls like he did underwear by now, but he always went after the biggest airheads. Well, Becky Miller was anyway. She was a Hufflepuff in our year, who didn't know the difference between Potions and Herbology. Casey was in her fourth year, and she was pretty smart, actually. She was actually a nice girl. "Casey Franklin, Sirius? Isn't she a little...I don't know, not your style?"

"How is that?" Sirius asked indignantly.

"Because she actually knows which way to hold a wand," Remus chimed in, and I smirked a bit.

"Are you implying that the girls that I date do not know the proper way in which to hold a wand?" Sirius questioned.

"No," I said, stifling a laugh, "Where would you get a crazy idea like that?"

Dinner ended and we scurried back to the common room. We sat down by the fire, talking about our first week back home. James, Remus, and Sirius sat down on the couch, and I sat laying across all three of them, with Peter on the chair. These were our usual spots in the common room, actually. Sirius usually played with my hair, and James would tickle my feet now and then, knowing ticklishness was one of my biggest weaknesses.

"Wouldn't it be cool if we could all just live here, and _not_ have classes?" Sirius said. We were all used to Sirius and his random comments or statements or questions.

"Then this would be the hugest boarding house on the planet," I said, looking up at him.

"Filled with a whole bunch of morons," Remus added.

"That too," I said, pointing to Remus.

We talked for a bit longer before deciding to call it a night, and went upstairs. The next day were Quidditch trials, and it turned out, James was right. I was far better than anybody there, but I was still extremely nervous. The day they posted who made the team, James and I were pleased to see we made it. A few days later I was with Lily in the library when a Ravenclaw sixth year approached us. "Hi, I'm Matthew Locke," He said, gazing at me. He had chestnut hair and blue eyes. He was really tall, and extremely good looking. "Hi, I'm Ashley Eastbrooke. And this," I said, gesturing to Lily, "is Lily Evans."

"Yeah, I know," Matthew said with a small blush, "You're the Gryffindor keeper, right?"

"Yep," I said happily, "This will be my third year. Oh, you're a beater for Ravenclaw, right?"

"Yeah. You're an excellent flier," Matthew told me.

I smiled, "I'm okay, I guess. But you're brilliant!"

And we went on talking for god knows how long. But when I turned to ask Lily something, she was gone, and so were her books. I checked the clock. It was 8:00, and Matthew had walked over at about 3:45. He was incredibly interesting. He had a great sense of humor, and was very sweet. He was pretty much perfect.

"Wow, we talked through dinner," I stated with a laugh, "Want to sneak down to the kitchens with me?"

"Sure," Matthew said, and we walked down to grab some food. We ate quickly, and when it was time to go back to our common rooms, he asked me if I'd want to go to Hogsmeade with him.

"I'd like that," I said earnestly, with a wide grin, "I'll see you around."

He flashed me a big grin, kissed me on the cheek, and walked away. I climbed through the portrait hole, and took a seat with Remus. "Hey, Rem."

"Ace!" He said happily, "Where've ya been?"

"Uh...With this guy," I shrugged.

"The guys are out looking for you. We were kind of worried, so they sent the search party," Remus smiled, "They made me stay here in case you came back."

"What morons my friends are," I laughed, and he playfully swatted my arm. Just then, James and Sirius came storming into the common room. Their eyes widened when they saw me, and practically threw me up into the air. "You-guys-worry too-much!" I said, between choking bear hugs. "You know, I have a life outside you guys," I stated, rolling my eyes. The guys just laughed at that, and shook their heads, but I was determined to make them listen, "I _do_ have a life. Just ask the guy I'm going out with!" Okay, so that kind of slipped out. Whoops.

"You're going out with a _guy_?" James asked, his eyes wide.

"Well, I'd go out with a girl, but they're all taken," I said, rolling my eyes, "Why are you so shocked?"

"I knew this was going to happen," Sirius muttered.

"Would somebody like to fill me in?" I snapped.

"When we first saw you on the platform, with ya know, boobs, hips, and an ass, we knew that this was going to come," Sirius said, shaking his head.

"Oh my god! Are you my older brothers or my best friends?" I said angrily.

"Same difference," James shrugged.

"No! How come nobody acted this way when Sirius started dating anything in a skirt?" I demanded.

"Well, cause I'm a guy," Sirius said simply, and Remus hit him hardly on the arm.

"Unbelievable! I am so _sick_ of _bloody_ double standards!" I shouted, and stalked off to my room.

I collapsed onto the bed, and started huffing and puffing. Lily sat down on the edge of my bed. "What's wrong?" I told her about my conversation with the guys, and she shook her head. "Let me get this straight," Lily said, looking as shocked as I felt, "You agree to go on _one_ date, and they're behaving this way, but it's okay for Sirius to pursue anything that moves, just because he's a guy?" I just nodded angrily. "That's so sexist!" Lily declared.

I guess I should be happy all my friends aren't guys. So that way I have somebody to turn to when I'm angry will all of those guys. Well, I'm mot exactly mad at Peter or Remus. That's kind of impossible. Being mad at Remus, I mean. And it's not like he said anything as sexist as those other two rodents.

The next morning, I igorned Sirius and James through breakfast, transfiguration, potions, and defense against the dark arts. But the three of us got paired together in Charms, and I was sadly forced to communicate with them. "Let's just get this over with," I muttered.

"Well, excuse us for being concerned!" Sirius said angrily.

"Sirius!" James hissed in a loud whisper.

"Ash, we've heard what these guys say about you. We're just looking out for you! We don't want you to end up going out with some guy that you actually like, when all he wants is to get in your pants! We don't want to see you get hurt! If I were a nice guy who rarely went on dates, and I went out with a girl who was known for sleeping around and not getting into actual relationships, you'd get worried about me too, right? Tell me I'm wrong."

He was right, and I knew it. "Fine, you're right. Are you happy now?" I said, crossing my arms.

"Actually, yeah," he said, clearly satisfied.

I just rolled my eyes and went back to my Charms work. When class was over, I hurried to catch up with Lily. I had about enough of Sirius' gloating. We decided to go upstairs and study. Lily was _already _all worked up about O.W.L.s, even though they're at the very end of the year! This was typical Lily though. I've had about four years of it, and I was pretty much used to it. Sometimes, if I tried hard enough, I could actually tune her out.

But then, when she changed the subject to my date, I tried to tune her back in. "What'd ya say?" I asked, seeing as I only caught the last bit.

"Oh, I just asked what you were planning on wearing for your date."

"Oh my god," I said quietly, "I have no idea."

"Don't worry about it," Lily shrugged, "You look great in anything...I don't understand number six on this damn Potions homework!"

I sighed, and went back to tuning her out.

**Love it? Hate it? Let me know!**


	3. Food Fight

**Wow, I'm really sorry that this took so long to get up. I've been so incredibly busy lately, and I haven't found the time, but I promise, I'm going to be much better about updates. So I hope everyone's still interested in my fic, because it's starting to get good! At least I think, but I guess that's your decision to make. So, read and review? Thanks, loves!**

**Food Fight**

The next morning I got ready quickly and skipped down to the Great Hall. Friday had finally come, which meant that tomorrow was my date with Matthew. I was really excited, but also kind of freaking out. To make matters worse, John Barton, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, announced that our first game of the season would be next Saturday against Ravenclaw. I was sort of figety through all of my classes, and then at dinner, Matthew came over. "Hey," he said with a grin.

"Hi," I said, returning the grin.

"So...I guess we'll be playing each other next Saturday," Matthew said.

"_What_?" I questioned.

"He's talking about Quidditch," James muttered.

I blushed deeply, "Oh. Right."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," Matthew said, his grin spreading, and getting goofier.

"Yeah. Seeya," I said dreamily, and felt like I was in a trance as he walked away. I was utterly dazed through the rest of dinner, and let's just say it was apparent that my friends noticed. "You really like this guy, eh?" James smirked.

I smiled, "What can I say? The guy's perfect."

"That's sort of fishy," James said, narrowing his eyes, "Nobody's _perfect_."

"Lily is," I countered.

James thought for a moment, "Okay, point made." I grinned and continued eating my dinner.

The next day I woke up bright and early. Lily and Bianca Blackburn, my other roomate and best friend, woke up too, and helped me prepare for my date. I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, and did my hair in loose curls, half of it up, half down. I decided on a black shirt with a black t-shirt, and a gray sweater, zipped up half way. I threw on some black heels, and put on a little bit of black eyeliner. "You look perfect," Lily declared.

"Really? Are you sure?" I asked, looking to Bianca for comfirmation.

She nodded happily, "Absolutely."

"Thanks," I said, sighing in relief. I said good-bye to them and made my way downstairs to the common room. James, Remus, and Sirius, who were all sitting at one of the tables, looked up at me. Their jaws literally dropped. "Uh, so, what do you think?" I asked them nervously, making my way down the rest of the stairs, which seemed to be endless.

"Ace?" Remus questioned, raising a brow.

"Yeah?"

"Ashley?" Sirius went on.

"_Yes_?"

"Ashley Clarice Eastbrooke?" James continued.

"Yes, it's me!" I shouted.

"Yeah, we get that," James said.

They all stared at me some more like I was an alien. I just rolled my eyes and sighed. "Forget it. I'm sorry I asked your opinion. What was I thinking? It's not like you guys ever have anything nice to say," I snapped angrily.

"You look beautiful," I heard Sirius say. I looked up at him and gave a half smile.

"Thanks."

"You really do, Ace. You look gorgeous," Remus told me earnestly.

"Really?"

"You bet. Absolutely stunning," James told me, giving me a hug. I hugged them all, and apologized for getting so angry. I then walked outside and met Matthew.

"Hey, Matt," I said brightly. He smiled warmly and gave me a hug, and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, Ashley. How have you been?" Matthew asked, looking generally interested in me and my life. That made me feel really good.

"Fantastic, thanks for asking. What about you?" I questioned as we walked outside the castle.

"Great," he told me, as I got lost in his warm smile.

We arrived in Hogsmeade and I felt amazing. The two of us went into so many different stores and made fun of tons of different odd products. When we got tired of walking around we decided to go into the Three Broomsticks. We took a seat and ordered a couple of butterbeers. When they came, Matthew and I drank in a very comfortable silence. It had been a positively lovely day.

"I had a really great time today," I told him honestly.

"Yeah, so did I. It was a lot of fun," Matthew responded.

"It was. Especially almost getting kicked out of Zonko's," I said, and we both laughed.

"How was I to know that we couldn't try the products out on customers?" Matthew asked, and we laughed again, "So, Ashley...I was wondering. Would you...Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"Wow. Absolutely," I said, completely thrilled.

"Great!" Matthew said, looking very relieved. We paid for the drinks and left the Three Broomsticks. When we got outside, it was slightly more chilly. I shivered, and Matthew put his arm around me. It was completely perfect. I looked up at him, and he kissed me softly. Never had I been so happy. Life was great.

As soon as I got back to school, Matthew walked me to the common room. I found Lily, who had skipped the trip to Hogsmeade, just to study. She took a break to listen to me tell her about my date. When I had finished, Lily and I headed up to our dorms to study some more for a Potions exam. While we were studying, Bianca came in "What's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing. Lily was just going through her list of all the things she hates about James," I replied with a bored shrug.

"Lily, you can't do that! We have a huge Potions exam tomorrow, and I can't stay up all night. I need my sleep," Bianca said, jabbing a finger at her.

Lily rolled her eyes, "He's just such a-," but she didn't get to finish her sentence, because both Bianca and I hurled pillows at her at the same time. "Fine, you guys win," Lily said stiffly, crossing her arms, "Let's study for this test."

Bianca and I exchanged triumphant glances, and sat over by Lily to study for the Potions test.

The next day we took our Potions test and the day passed quickly. After class James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Bianca and I went outside by the lake. "How hard was that test?" Bianca groaned, throwing a rock into the lake.

"Harder than Sirius when Linda Perry walks by," James said with a nod.

"Can you blame me?" Sirius said with a smirk.

Linda Perry was Sirius' latest conquest. She was a blonde haired green eyed Ravenclaw fourth year. Sirius' eyes got wide and a funny look crossed his face. "Gotta go!" he called to us, and ran top speed, stopping at Linda Perry and a group of giggling girls. We all laughed at how pathetic it was, and returned to our conversation.

"I think you're off, James," I said with a smirk, "Nothing, not even a test comes close to how hard Sirius gets around Linda." I checked my watch and groaned, "I've gotta go meet Jackie." I slung my bag over my shoulder, waved to my friends, and hurried off toward the library. I sat down at a table by the back, waiting for my younger sister to show up. Who was I kidding? The girl had never been on time for anything in her life. She was over two weeks late being born, and it was all downhill from there.

I decided to start my homework while I was waiting. Finally at a quarter to five, she showed up. "Fourty five minutes late!" I shouted. "I'm doing you a favor here, and you can't do the simple common courtesy of showing up! I don't know why I even bother with you sometimes, Jackie. You're so irresponsible."

"Charissa got hexed, okay?" Jackie said, her eyes filling with tears.

What a way to make a girl feel like shit, huh? Charissa Robinson happens to be my sister's very best friend. "Oh god, Jacks, I'm _so _sorry." Jackie waved her hand sadly, "It's okay...You, you didn't know."

"What-What happened?" I asked, gesturing for Jackie to sit down.

"I don't know, really. People said they heard her arguing with some Slytherin. I...I guess it got pretty bad," Jackie said quietly. I looked at my sister with pity.

"Okay, we can do this some other time. Go to the Hospital Wing, Jackie."

"Thanks, Ace." She smiled at me and hurried off for the Hospital Wing.

I put my books away and headed off for the common room. I collapsed on the couch and sighed. Sirius came trotting in and sat on top of me. "Owww! You're crushing me, fatty!" I whined.

"Oh, you know you like it," Sirius joked. I grabbed a pillow and wacked him in the head with it.

"Ow, that hurt," he said, jumping off of me.

"Oh yes. Feathery softness, oww, what pain! You know, I think you need the hospital wing," I said sarcastically.

"I just might," Sirius replied sadly.

"Nobody likes a cry baby," I told him as he sat down beside me.

"But I'm just a big ol' bucket of tears," Sirius replied as he stuck out his lower lip.

"That's good. Hope you drown in them, sweetie," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Remind me why I put up with this abuse?" Sirius questioned, crossing his arms and pouting some more.

"It's simple. Cause you all love me," I shrugged.

"If you say so..." Sirius said quietly.

"Haha, you know you love me, mister," I said, throwing a balled up peice of paper at him.

"That I do," Sirius said, throwing the paper back at me playfully.

Later that night Bianca and I made our way downstairs to get something to eat from the kitchens. Bee's old house elf now worked at Hogwarts and we got pretty good treatment from good ol' Squeaky. Once we got down there, we saw James and Sirius already stuffing their faces. "Yum, what are you guys eating?" I asked, sitting beside James.

"Ice cream and cake," James replied as bits of the said food came flying from his mouth. I wiped the peices of ice cream and cake from my face and rubbed it off on his shirt. I grabbed his fork and cake from him and took a bite. "This is delicious. I'll be keeping this with me," I said, stuffing the rest of the cake into my mouth.

"Pig," James said with a glare.

"It's okay for you though?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, of course. I'm a man," James said, puffing out his chest.

"If you say so," I shrugged, finishing off his cake.

James turned back to his ice cream and put a bunch on a spoon. He raised it to his mouth, but Bianca took the spoon and ate the ice cream off of it. "Yum, this is great."

"Why must you two ruin a perfectly good meal?" Sirius asked us.

"Meal?" Bianca and I questioned in unison.

Sirius shrugged and continued eating his pie. Bianca and I exchanged glances. "Pie!" we shouted, running toward the other side of the table. We each grabbed a fork, and dag in.

"Get your own!" Sirius shouted, trying to shield his precious pie. We laughed and it ended up turning into a -very brutal, I must say- food fight. I felt so incredibly blessed. I had the best friends that anybody could possibly hope for. I had an amazing boyfriend, who was pretty much all around perfect. I had it all. How did having it all go to having nothing? I really pray for those days to return, I really do.

**How was it? Please please please let me know! Thanks a bunch! **


	4. Great Mistake

Sorry that I pretty much fell off the face of the Earth. I've had a _lot_ going on lately, and I sort of had to put my story on hold. I'm graduating this year so I'm doing a lot of studying, family issues, health issues, so this was sort of the last thing on my mind. I hope I didn't lose too many readers, though!

**Great Mistake**

I sat up tossing and turning in my bed. No matter what I did I just could not get comfortable. I took my 712th look at the clock. 4:22 a.m. I tossed the blankets onto the floor and stumbled down to the common room. I began writing some poems, which was the usual routine when I couldn't seem to find sleep. I had a whole book of poems I had written, actually. I had never summoned enough courage to show them to a single soul. I kind of liked the fact that there was a part of my life that was completely private. That was just mine, not for anybody else to see. Other times when I couldn't find sleep I would draw. Drawing was another part of my life that was mine, and mine only. I kept all of my poems, short stories, and drawings in a folder in my dresser. I heard someone coming down the stairs and quickly shoved my latest poem into my folder, and sat on it.

"Ace? Is that you?" I heard the faint voice of Remus.

"Yeah. What are you doing up?" I asked him, patting the seat beside me.

"I could ask the same of you," Remus responded.

"I couldn't sleep," I shrugged, "How about you?"

"Full moon tomorrow," Remus sighed. That was all that I needed to hear. I pitied Remus so much, mainly because he had never done a thing to deserve this. He was a loyal friend, a brilliant student, and one of the all around best people I'd ever had the fortune to meet.

"C'mere," I whispered, giving Remus a half smile and I buried my head in his chest. "It's just not fair. You're the best guy I know. You don't deserve it."

"Must be karma from a past life or something," Remus suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hm. Maybe."

The next day I met Matthew in the Great Hall, and give him a quick kiss. I looked over to Sirius, who had been chatting with Linda, but now he was just glancing at me. He looked as if someone had smacked him on the head. I would have thought that he'd have that ridiculous grin on his face, seeing as he was talking to Linda and all, but boy, was I wrong.

Several minutes later, Matthew told me he wanted to finish an essay in the library before Defense Against the Dark Arts, which left me alone to finish my breakfast. Sirius sat opposite me and raised an eyebrow. "What's with you and Locke?"

"You knew we were dating," I shrugged, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

"You actually like Locke?" Sirius seemed surprised.

"Why is that shocking?"

"Isn't he just a tad, I don't know, boring?" Sirius questioned.

"Boring? Matthew? Oh, no way. He's charming, funny, kind, and definitely not bad to look at."

"He doesn't seem like your type to me, is all," Sirius said thoughtfully.

"And who _is_ my type?"

"Not that guy," Sirius responded.

He got up, and went back over to Linda, who was waiting impatiently with her hands on her hips. I shook my head and stood up to go to Charms. As much as I hated to say it, Sirius was right. Matthew Locke was a great guy, but he was not even in the vicinity of my type. I had always gone for bad guys. Tough, sarcastic, jerk-off types. Matthew was kind, friendly, and considerate. But deep down inside of me, I could feel that I would eventually get tired of Matthew.

He knew that something was wrong all throughout the course of the day. I had to at least give the guy a chance though, right? I mean, he hadn't done anything wrong, but Sirius' words made me see that this just wasn't going to work. God, I hope Sirius is happy. He just ruined the first actual relationship I'd ever been in. It's not like I can even blame him though, because it's not like he lied or made anything up. He just knew me better than I knew myself at times.

I avoided Matthew for the rest of the day. Jeez, what's wrong with me? I seriously don't know how to just be happy. I need to always go and wreck good things. Always over analyzing stuff and trying to sabotage myself. After dinner, Matthew caught up with me, and began talking about some stupid Arithmancy test. I turned to look at him, and gave him a half-smile.

"Matthew, can we talk for a second?" I asked, filled with guilt.

"Yeah, sure. What's on your mind?"

"Listen, I...I don't think this is going to work out," I told him dryly.

"Why not?" he asked confusedly.

I sighed, "You're a really great guy, but I just...I don't really want to be in a relationship right now. Besides, I think we'd work much better as friends," I told him, "I'm sorry."

He shrugged, "Okay, Ashley. I understand. I'll seeya around."

Okay, so that had to be one of the most boring break-ups in the history of break ups. Oh well, that was something to be grateful for. A dramaless break-up was an incredibly rare, and valued thing. Later on I charged over to Sirius in the common room. I crossed my arms angrily, "I hope you're happy."

"Why?"

"Because I just broke up with a perfectly good guy, and it's all your fault!" Sirius smiled, finding amusement in this. Amusement! "What the bloody hell are you smiling at?" Sirius just continued on grinning, and I was getting angrier and angrier, "Arse." I spun around and sauntered off.

The next day the common room was completely empty. I sat curled up like a cat in one of the arm chair's and sulked. I heard someone climbing into the common room, but didn't bother to check who it was. I had drank about two and a half firewhiskey's, and I thought moving might cause me to puke. "Ashley?"

"James?"

James walked toward me and sat down across from me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, "What are you doing inside? It's nice out."

"Looking for you," James answered, "Are you sure you're okay?" he looked at me worriedly.

Maybe it was because of the firewhiskies or something, but for some reason, I leaned in and kissed James. It only went on for about half a minute before I pulled away. "Jamesie? Why are you kissing me?"

"You started it," James pointed out.

"Y-Yeah, I know. Buh you didn' pull away now...didja?"

"Oh, merlin," James grunted, "Are you drunk?"

I looked around a giggled a little bit, "Maybe just a little," I said, showing him so with my index finger and my thumb.

"Merlin," James repeated.

"You didn' answer my kesh-tin, Jamesie," I reminded him, "I'm not in love wiff anybody. If you love Lily, how come you're kissin' me?"

James shrugged, "I honestly don't know."

"Maybe it's how friends are there for each odder when they dunno what tuh say," I suggested.

James nodded, "Maybe."

I looked at him and cocked my head to my right, looking at him questioningly. He looked back and somehow, we kissed our way up to his room, peeling each other's clothes off.

The next morning I had a terrible hangover and avoided James the entire day. What the bloody hell was wrong with me? I gave up my virginity to my best friend, who I honestly don't have any romantic feelings for. Damn alcohol. Damn it to hell. A few minutes before midnight, James found me staring into the fire. "Ash-Ashley?"

"Yeah?" I said weakly.

"I'm so sorry. I took advantage of you when you were drunk, and I wish I could take it back. I really hope you don't hate me. I'm so sorry."

I looked up at him, startled, "It was _my f_ault, James. I started it."

"But I didn't stop it! You were the drunk one, you were the victim. Not me. Do you think we'll ever be able to get our friendship back the way it was?"

I shrugged sadly, "I really hope so. Maybe someday it won't be so awkward anymore."

"You're my best friend, Ace."

"You're mine, too."

I really hoped nobody could tell something was wrong with me. I sat down next to Sirius, trying to smile. "Hey, when did you detatch yourself from Linda?"

"This morning," Sirius shrugged, "We did it last night and now it's done."

"Sirius, can I ask you a personal question?"

Sirius shrugged, "Sure."

"How many girls have you slept with?"

Sirius looked a little uncomfortable, "Why?"

"Just curious."

"Two," Sirius said.

"Two?" I asked incredelously, "That's it?"

Sirius looked even more uncomfortable, "Yeah. Linda and um, this girl."

"Does she go to school here?" I asked curiously.

Sirius nodded slowly.

"Well, who is it?"

"I can't say," Sirius said slowly, "It happened at that party last year when we won the Cup. Someone had spiked the punch. It was just one big mistake."

"So she's a Gryfindor," I said thoughtfully.

Sirius's face turned very red, "Can we drop it?"

"Oh my god. It's Bianca, isn't it?" I said, vaguely remembering her going upstairs with someone at that party, "Don't lie."

"Yeah. It was Bianca."

"I don't believe it," I said, astonished. "You and Bianca...Is it awkward being with her now?" I asked. I was a little mad and hurt that he had kept this from me, but I guess it wasn't by business.

"Not anymore," Sirius answered, "It was for a long time, though."


	5. Jason Slater

**I know I already put Chapter 4 up, but since it was so fast paced, I made the chapter shorter and focused only on Ace and Jason. I took more time to introduce the character. I'll fix the rest of it and put it up as different chapters. Please Review. Thanks.**

**Jason Slater**

Halloween was amongst us, and James and I were back to our little avoiding game. Would this ever end? Remus, Sirius, and Peter definitely took notice, which was a _very_ bad thing, because they would soon begin to ask questions on what was going on, and we couldn't exactly give them an honest answer. I darted down the hall to try avoid him on the way to dinner. No such luck. "Ace!" I couldn't supress a cringe as I turned around.

"James," I said quietly.

"This needs to end," James told me, pacing back and forth. He stopped in front of me and looked at me, "It's ridiculous."

"If it's so ridiculous then how come you're ignoring me?" I asked him tensely.

"I am not," James argued.

"Are too!"

James sighed, "It's just - It's all my fault, you know? I'm a horrible, horrible friend. There's no way you would have consented to that if you were sober, and I _knew_ that. I don't even know _why_ I let it happen. I mean, I love Lily, y'know? I'm scum."

I sighed and glanced at him, "I don't think I was _that_ drunk, James. I mean, I was _pretty_ aware of the situation. I think I could have stopped anytime, and the same goes for you. But we didn't, and we have to live with that."

"I just - I really miss being your friend. I thought after our last talk, everything would be cool, but it's still killing me."

"I know," I just nodded. What could I say?

"I don't know where we go from here," James said, staring at his feet.

"I wish there was a way to forget about the whole thing," I told him solemnly.

"That makes two of us," James muttered, "It was just so stupid."

"Yeah," I agreed, "What a waste."

"What do you mean?" James questioned.

"Our first times," I explained, "I mean, yours should have been with Lily. Mine should have been with a guy who could possibly be my future husband."

James nodded, "Guess it's too late for that."

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied quietly, "I hate this."

"So do I," James replied, biting his lip.

I decided to go outside for a walk. It wasn't hot or cold, just right. In the distance, I saw a guy on the ground, who had most likely been hexed. I ran over to him, but he didn't look familiar to me. "Hello?" I called, looking down at his handsome face. He had pale skin, but his cheeks were red. He had very long eyelashes. The guy had very red, full lips and a bunch of wavy chocolate brown hair. "Hello?" I called again. Nothing. I sighed, levitating him, and bringing him into the building. I sent him straight to Madam Pomfrey. "Miss Eastbrooke, what happened?"

"I found him outside," I explained, "Is he going to be okay?"

"He should be," Madam Pomfrey nodded, "Off you go." I walked around, wondering what had happened to that boy. He looked about sixteen or seventeen. I could recall seeing his face around school a few times, but I just couldn't place him. I headed to the common room where Remus and Sirius were playing Chess.

"What's up, Ace?" Remus asked, without taking his eyes off of the board.

"Nothing. Went for a walk, I just found a guy unconcious outside the school, and now I'm gonna start some homework."

"Huh?" Sirius questioned.

"I'm gonna go start my homework. I'll see you guys later." I climbed the stairs and collapsed on my bed. The next day, I ate my breakfast and began to walk from the Great Hall, when I felt someone tap me on the back.

"Ashley?"

I spun around. It was the guy from yesterday, "Hey. How are you?"

The guy shrugged, "All right, thanks to you."

"Glad to hear it. How did you know who I was?" I asked.

He smiled, "I have my ways."

"Seriously," I rolled my eyes.

"Madam Pomfrey told me," he grinned, "I'm Jason. Jason Slater."

"Nice to meet you," I said, shaking his extended hand, "Well, I have to get to class. I'll see you later."

After classes were over, Jason found me in the library, doing some more homework. I smiled up at him, "Hey," I said.

"Hey," Jason replied with a grin, "What are you working on?"

"Arithmancy," I cringed, "What year are you in, anyway?" I looked at his robes. He was in Ravenclaw.

"Seventh," he responded, "What about you?"

"Fifth. So, do you mind if I ask what happened out there?"

"I was working on a hex for Gary Martin-"

"Oh, I hate him. He's in seventh year, too? Captain of the Slytherin Gryfindor team? He's such a prat."

"I know," Jason agreed, "I was working on a special hex just for him, and I was practicing on this bush, but it backfired and hit me. I still have some bugs to work out with it. You're not supposed to pass out."

"What is it supposed to do?" I asked curiously.

"That's my secret," Jason said mysteriously, "For now, anyway."

He grinned and kissed me sweetly on the lips.

I wasn't quite sure what Jason and I were doing. He was kind of hard to read. I knew that I liked him, though. He seemed like a great guy, but he had the one thing Matthew lacked. Mystery. He wasn't predictable, and so, we began hanging out more and more. My friends weren't a huge fan of Jason though.

"I don't like him," Sirius said flat out. Typical. I just rolled my eyes in response. "He seems like bad news."

"And you don't?" I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"There's something about him," Sirius tried to explain, "I can't put my finger on it, but it's not good."

A big flaw of mine was that when someone told me not to do something, it made me want to do it more. I was stubborn and I always had to have my way. I could never listen to anybody else. So, I kept seeing Jason. He was just so interesting.

"Where'd you get that cut?" I asked Jason, reffering to a cut on his neck.

"You really want to know?" Jason said darkly.

"If you want to tell me," I shrugged.

"It's a scar. I've had it for a year," Jason began quietly, "I've never told anyone this before. Well, my friend Gordon knows, but that's it. He's a muggle, and he was there when it happened. It was really late, and we had been at the park. Gordon decides he's hungry but we're both broke. So we jump into his car and he drives us to an ATM. There was a pizza place around the block from the ATM, so we figured we'd go there. I got out get some money out of my account, but it's really late and nobody's around. Next thing I know, this guy comes up from behind me, tells me to give him the money and cuts my throat a bit. I would have died, but Gordon jumped out of the car with a baseball bat, and hits the guy over the head. He called an ambulence and all I have left of that is this scar."

"Oh my god, I'm ... I'm so sorry," I said sympathetically.

"Thanks. You don't have to be, though. Everything happens for a reason, right?" Jason said, forcing a smile. I could tell he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"So, do you have any brothers or sisters?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yep," Jason nodded, "I have three sisters and two brothers."

"Wow, your parents were busy, huh?"

Jason grinned, "My oldest sister, Michelle, she's 23, is an auror. She gets to see so much action, I envy her. But it's really hard for her. She's gone through a lot, and I love her for it. My oldest brother's 21, Derrick is - "

"Derrick Slater? As in the seeker for the Appleby Arrows?" I asked in shock.

"The very same," Jason nodded, "He gets me free tickets for all his games, so he's okay in my book. My sister Cynthia's in her fourth year in Ravenclaw, too. She's a terrific writer and she's written some pieces for the _Prophet_ and some poems for _Witch Weekly_. My brother Andrew's a first year, and he's top of his class, and my sister Alaina, who's five, is a genius. She learned to read when she was about...two?"

"Impressive family," I commented.

"They're okay," Jason shrugged. He smiled, "Come on, I want to show you something."

I shrugged and followed him out to the Quidditch pitch. He took something out of his pocket and threw it on the ground. He muttered something and it got about a hundred times bigger. It looked like a big skateboard, without the skates. "What's this?"

"Come on," He said, taking my hand and leading me onto it. No sooner than we had stepped on it, it had soared into the sky. It was like skateboarding in the air. "It's a hoverboard," Jason explained, "I prefer it over a broom anyday."

I smiled. It was such a thrill being in mid air with a guy who I barely knew. It felt like I'd known him forever though.

The next morning, I felt someone put their hands over my eyes, "Guess who." I turned around.

"Hey, Jay," I smiled, gesturing for him to sit down. He did and grinned.

"Listen, Ashley...I uh, I really like you," Jason said nervously.

I smiled a bit, "I like you, too."

The nervous look left his face, "Great," he smiled again and kissed me softly, "I've got to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'll see you later."

Jason seemed to be perfect for me, and I really thought that this was something great. It was already a thousand times better than whatever it was that I had with Matthew. Don't get me wrong, Matthew was a great guy, but in a friend sort of way. Not like a guy I'd want to date. But Jason really was the entire package to me.

**Better? Worse? please tell mee.**


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